Montague building a target for Route 206 traffic

Photo by Tracy Klimek/New Jersey Herald = Debris lies on the ground and blue tarp covers the damaged walls of a building at Clove Road and Route 206 in Montague on Saturday. A car drove through the structure on Nov. 8.

Photo by Tracy Klimek/New Jersey Herald - Tire tracks are seen on the lawn of a two-story home near the intersection of Route 206 and Clove Road in Montague on Saturday. A silver SUV crashed through the front wall of the residence on Wednesday night.

Subnitted photo -
A silver SUV crashed through the front wall and out the side wall of a Montague residence on Wednesday night.

Related Content

Within those 20-plus years, Wallace recalls the house being struck by a vehicle at least three times and the tree next to it being hit at least once.

Multiple bright yellow traffic signs on Route 206 north, alerting drivers to curve to the left toward the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge, have been knocked out "almost every other year," he said.

The blue, three-story building — which houses a live-in occupant and three businesses, including Wallace's law firm — has been damaged extensively over the years, most recently by a car accident that occurred last week.

Wallace said the crash did not affect his office, since he is on the second floor above the auto sales office, but it did take out a few telephone poles and the electricity.

Although the damage to the downstairs office for Auto Sales Plus was severe, Wallace said the owner dodged a potentially life-threatening incident.

"He literally missed the accident by an hour. The car sort of bounced off the front step, sailed over the porch and through the window and took out his desk, blowing it out the back wall," Wallace said. "If he was there, it would have been almost impossible for him to survive."

At 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, Adam Weaver, 29, of Lake Ariel, Pa. and three juveniles, a 5-year-old female, a 4-year-old female and a 1-year-old male, suffered minor injuries when their SUV crashed through the building, according to New Jersey State Police spokesman Sgt. Lawrence Peele.

The vehicle was heading north on Route 206 when the driver lost control, knocked down a few of the yellow warning signs, went up the front steps of the building and smashed through the front wall.

The vehicle proceeded to crash through a front room — the office space for Auto Sales Plus, Wallace said — and broke through the side wall of the building, coming to rest dangling from the first floor.

All occupants of the vehicle were transported to Newton Medical Center. Two Blue Ridge Rescue Squad units, Montague Fire and Rescue and New Jersey State Police responded to the scene.

Wallace said the building, which was built in 1900, according to assessment records, most likely has been able to withstand the impact of the multiple car accidents because of how it was built and reinforced.

Although a large piece of wood is lodged in place to hold up the awning on the front porch, the building was inspected and deemed safe the night of the accident, according to Peele.

"Last time this happened, it took weeks for us to get back into the building," Wallace said. "We could see corners of the rooms from where the building had moved about half an inch."

Although he once had his office in the first-floor spot, Wallace said he moved upstairs several years ago and is not worried for himself, but fears for anyone in the downstairs office.

"Honestly, that first floor office facing the road, why would anyone ever want to occupy it again?" he said.

Although he doesn't see himself leaving the office anytime soon, he does believe something needs to be done to prevent any more accidents.

"(Route 206) is a long straightaway with a lot of speed, and when people are not paying attention you have a problem," he said. "There needs to be something in place, I don't know, maybe a guardrail, that will slow people down without killing them."

Dr. Michael G. Miller, a clinical psychologist, also has office space in the building, which is owned by MSZ Corporation Inc.

Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to add the name of the driver and ages of the juvenile passengers.

In Case You Missed It

In 1907, Dr. Thomas L. Bennett incorporated the F.H. Bennett Biscuit Company in New York City. The company originally had its bakery located near the corner of Avenue D and 19th Street on the west side of Manhattan.